A few weeks ago I wrote “Can Culture Be a Problem?” in which I detailed some of the public health problems that are common in China, and how they are at least partially perpetuated by ideas in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
This weeks story highlights one of the problems, tuberculosis, and it’s prevalence in China, and that many of the sufferers are not aware that they are carriers of the disease. Not surprisingly, People’s Daily failed to mention that TB is easily spread by spitting.
According to one of the doctors at my hospital, China had actually largely eradicated TB just a few decades ago through a large medical campaign. This was done through the creation of large hospitals that specialized in treating this disease. That is why, she explained, that many of the doctors today think TB is not so common in China.
Unfortunately with little emphasis placed on improving ideas about public health, TB has once again flourished in China.
[…] A few weeks ago I wrote “Can Culture Be a Problem?” in which I detailed some of the public health problems that are common in China, and how they are at least partially perpetuated by ideas in Traditional Chinese Medicine. … Continue reading → […]
This is very concerning! One of my friends from Xining told me last year that her sister had to take time off from her university course as she had TB. When I have subsequently asked about the sister, I am always told “She’s OK” but is she? I wonder what kind of treatment she had. I never knew that TB was so prevalent in China but there has been a big increase of cases in UK due to migrants bringing the disease here. Brits are routinely vaccinated against TB at age 13.